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BELLATOR MMA featherweight kingpin and No. 1-ranked pound-for-pound fighter Patricio “Pitbull” (33-5 MMA, 21-5 BMMA) defends his World Championship against surging Hungarian Adam Borics (18-1, 10-1 BMMA) as the main event of BELLATOR 286 on October 1, 2022 (Saturday) at The Long Beach Arena in Long Beach, California, USA. In an eye-popping co-main event, Long Beach’s native son AJ McKee (18-1 MMA, 18-1 BMMA) will make his lightweight debut, as the former 145-pound champion takes on Spike Carlyle (14-3, 1-0 BMMA), who rides a 5-fight wave of winning momentum into the high profile co-main event.
Reigning BELLATOR featherweight champion, pound-for-pound kingpin, and MMA living legend Patricio ‘Pitbull’ returns to the BELLATOR cage for the first time since reclaiming his title from nemesis AJ McKee by unanimous decision in their BELLATOR 277 rematch. For the first defense of his third championship reign, Pitbull will face the red-hot #2-ranked contender, Hungary’s Adam Borics in the main event of BELLATOR’s return to Long Beach, California. Pitbull, 35, has been one of the faces of BELLATOR for well over a decade. The Brazilian finisher became just the second BELLATOR fighter to simultaneously hold two titles when he knocked out then-lightweight champion Michael Chandler in the first round of their 2019 meeting, and his resume is as lengthy and renowned as anyone’s in MMA, regardless of promotion. The winner of eight of his last ten, Pitbull has continued to display his dominance into his mid-30s. Against Borics, Pitbull will look to begin yet another successful era as the top dog at 145-pounds. 29-year-old Hungarian Adam Borics has been as impressive as advertised when he signed with BELLATOR in 2017 as one of Europe’s brightest young talents. “The Kid” has been nearly perfect inside the BELLATOR cage, amassing five straight finishes in as many outings to start his tenure with the promotion, building a highlight reel with wins over former champion Pat Curran, Aaron Pico, Jeremy Kennedy and Mads Burnell. Currently riding a four-fight winning streak, his successes and marked improvements in each subsequent bout have seen Borics catapult into the upper echelon of the featherweight division, landing at his current perch as the division’s #2-ranked contender. The fight with ‘Pitbull’ will be the biggest of the Kill Cliff FC product’s career, but if his recent performances are any indication, Borics is ready for his bid at BELLATOR championship gold.
While ‘Pitbull’ faces a new challenger in the main event of BELLATOR’s return to Long Beach, a familiar face in California-based star AJ “The Mercenary” McKee will look to make a strong first impression in the lightweight division in the show’s co-main event. In his consequential lightweight debut, McKee, 27, moves up a weight class to face a tough opponent in arguably the toughest division in BELLATOR’s current landscape. The former champion is eager to rebound from his first career loss, as well as to announce his arrival at 155 pounds to the rest of the division. With his new weight class ruled by the brother of Patricio ‘Pitbull,’ Patricky, McKee has a clear target at which his efforts will be aimed north of featherweight. First, he will have to dispatch a difficult opponent in Carlyle, who is 1-0 in his BELLATOR tenure, with an even more recent victory in Japanese-based promotion RIZIN’s ring this past April. Spike “The Alpha Ginger” Carlyle, at 29-years-old, is eager to give former featherweight champion AJ McKee a warm welcome to the 155 lb. division in front of “The Mercenary’s” hometown of Long Beach. Carlyle is on a roll, having won five straight fights with a whopping five finishes during that span. Of course, this current stretch includes Carlyle’s wild, comeback submission victory over Dan Moret in the third round of their BELLATOR 272 affair. Against McKee, Carlyle finds himself in a sizable matchup for both the division and combat sports fans. A win over the former titleholder would be the biggest of his professional career and likely vault him into the division’s rankings.
Meanwhile, Southern Californian roots have strengthened throughout the BELLATOR 286 main card with the addition of two separate fights featuring athletes with SoCal ties. No. 4-ranked featherweight Aaron Pico (10-3) will return to action in a main card scrap against Canada’s No. 6-ranked Jeremy Kennedy (17-3, 1 NC) in a fight that was originally slated to take place in April. Additionally, former bantamweight champion and current No. 3-ranked 135-pounder Juan Archuleta (25-4) takes on BELLATOR Bantamweight World Grand Prix Quarterfinalist and current No. 10-ranked 135-pounder Enrique Barzola (18-6-2). One of BELLATOR’s most electrifying competitors, #4-ranked featherweight contender Aaron Pico (10-3), will return to his home state of California as part of a loaded main card offering. Pico, 25, remains one of the most compelling fighters in all of MMA thanks to his rare blend of youth, athleticism, and dominant performances. His punching power has led to his inclusion in countless highlight reels, and his world-class wrestling and burgeoning grappling skills have rendered him a potent threat in all facets of MMA. The winner of six straight fights — five of which came by stoppage during the span — will take on #6-ranked contender Kennedy in what promises to be a spectacle in Long Beach. Looking to derail the hype train conducted by Aaron Pico is Canada’s Jeremy Kennedy. The 29-year-old has made an immediate impact in the BELLATORfeatherweight division since joining the promotion in 2020. Against Pico, “JBC” (short for junior bacon cheeseburger) finds himself on the verge of title contention. With a recent win against former title challenger Emmanuel Sanchez, Kennedy is firing on all cylinders and could crack the top-5 of the division — and steal Pico’s momentum — with an impressive performance on a card headlined by the promotion’s top featherweights.
Former BELLATOR Bantamweight World Champion and the man currently ranked No. 3 in that division, Juan “The Spaniard” Archuleta returns to action when he faces No. 10-ranked Barzola on October 1st. The former champion has utilized his well-rounded skill set to secure wins over the likes of Patchy Mix and Henry Corrales in the past. Gearing up for his 11th outing with BELLATOR, Archuleta has consistently delivered finishes with 11 knockouts under his belt. Archuleta has meshed together his dominant wrestling and crisp boxing to once again bring himself to the pinnacle of the deep bantamweight division and once again looks to climb atop the heap. With an impressive BELLATOR debut and TKO finish over Darrion Caldwell, the 33-year-old Enrique Barzola looks to get right back to it as he prepares for his fourth outing under the BELLATOR banner. Barzola did not waste any time as he earned himself back-to-back victories earlier this year including a dominant win over Russian powerhouse Nikita Mikhailov. Having five knockouts and four submission victories to his name, Barzola is comfortable wherever the fight goes, but his eagerness to be in the cage has paid off thus far as he finds himself as the division’s #10-ranked contender. With a win over #3-ranked Archuleta, Barzola could insert himself into the top-5 of the talent-stacked bantamweight rankings as well as inch closer to a title shot once the World Grand Prix concludes. Five preliminary bouts have also been added to the event, including a trio of lightweight contests. The first, a highly touted prospect and recent BELLATOR signee Max Rohskopf (7-1) will make his promotional debut against the MMA Lab’s Mike Hamel (9-5), who enters the fight on the strength of a two-fight winning streak. The second sees Islam Mamedov (21-2-1) look to continue the momentum he gained by defeating Zach Zane as part of BELLATOR’s co-promotional efforts with Eagle FC against former LFA champion Nick Browne (13-1), who has been perfect in two BELLATOR outings. Third, Hawaii’s Keoni Diggs (9-2) will look to return to the win column when he meets Brazil’s Ricardo Seixas (9-3). Rounding out the confirmed preliminary additions are a middleweight scrap pitting Khalid Murtazaliev (14-3) versus Khadzhimurat Bestaev (11-4) and a bantamweight tilt featuring undefeated former LFA champion Richard Palencia (10-0) versus Cee Jay Hamilton (15-9).
The main card of BELLATOR 286: Pitbull Vs. Borics will be aired live in the United States on SHOWTIME at 10:00 pm ET/7:00 pm PT and worldwide on BELLATOR MMA's official YouTube channel (October 2, Sunday, 10:00 am PHT/HKT/SGT) with the preliminary portion of the event starts at 7:00 pm ET/4:00 pm PT (October 2, Sunday, 7:00 am PHT/HKT/SGT) on the official YouTube channels of BELLATOR MMA and SHOWTIME Sports and Pluto TV. Those who want to watch BELLATOR 281 live and in person at the venue can purchase their tickets online at Bellator.com and Ticketmaster.com.
